"The Good Drugs"
Phil smiled dopily at the people around his bed. Bruce Banner was reading his chart; Thor was frowning as he leant against the wall near the door, looking out at the hospital corridor; Tony Stark was on his cell, arguing with Pepper; Clint Barton was curled up in a chair, staring at some place above Phil's head; Natasha Romanov was reading; and it looked like Steve Rogers was praying.
"Smile," Phil said. It was inarticulate, but loud enough for them all to hear, and look up. They were surrounding him in seconds, all talking at once, but the jumble of words didn't really penetrate his mind. He was too busy beaming at each of his superheroes, liking this dream very much.
"Smile," he repeated. They stopped speaking almost immediately. "All look so… serious. Look prettier smiling."
When they all tried to speak over each other again, Bruce whistled sharply. They soon stopped.
"I need to conduct an examination, Agent Coulson," he said. "Unless you'd prefer another doctor?"
Phil shook his head, and answered every question dutifully, letting Bruce move him wherever he wanted. He continued to watch the doctor with interest, waiting until the end before he spoke.
"I've seen you smile before," he said, shaking a finger as he drew out the first word. "So cute." Bruce smiled indulgently, and Phil pointed. "See? Rest my case."
"Just rest in general," Bruce said, pushing his hand down. "As much as you can before physical therapy starts."
Phil nodded, then turned his attention to Thor. "Is it safe now?"
"My brother is once more in SHIELD custody, and the danger has passed," Thor replied, still looking morose. "I wish to apolo—"
"Should be with Jane," Phil said, struggling to keep awake. "Get her back. That'll make you smile."
"Yeah, well, before you start on me, I won't be smiling with Pep's harsh words still ringing in my ears," Tony said.
"Better smile properly," Phil said, cocking his head. "Not a fake smile. Proper one."
"I'll bear that in mind."
"Here," Clint said, and he gave Phil a cheesy grin. "You're back in the land of the living, so happy days are here again, and all that shit."
"Don't swear in front of Captain America, Barton," Phil said, and he shushed Clint, genuinely wide-eyed. "He's a legend."
"What're we?" Tony asked, apparently offended. "I thought we were superheroes."
Phil waved his hand. "You're new superheroes."
"And superheroine," Natasha corrected. He nodded.
"And superheroine," he echoed. She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.
"Don't die again," she said.
"That's an unreasonable request," he said. She gave him a small smile, and he kind of melted amid the haze of drugs. "Okay."
"He's not all in his right mind," Steve said. Phil's head lolled to the side, and he smiled up at his first hero.
"Hey, captain," he said. Some of the tension left Steve's shoulders.
"Sir," he said. "I hope you get better soon. So you can, uh, appreciate your signed trading cards properly." He looked a bit pink in the cheeks, but then Phil could also see rainbows and owlets on the ceiling, so he wasn't exactly lucid at the moment. He could admit that.
"You've gotta smile, too," Phil said, blinking. He sighed softly. "You'd look so much more handsome if you smiled. I'm not even gay and I could seriously fall for you if you smiled just the right way."
A smile crept onto Steve's face, uncertain at first, until it became a fully-blown stunner.
"Yeah," Phil said, drawing it out again. "Just like that." He shuffled down in the covers, already beginning to drift off to sleep. "No need to be such a stern little muffin."
"Stern little muffin?" Tony said. His laughter and Steve's protests were the last things Phil heard before he slipped back into unconsciousness.
Tawg once referred to Steve as a 'stern little muffin', since he doesn't smile much in 'The Avengers'. I hope we get more smiles – devastating smiles – in 'Cap 2' and 'Avengers 2'. ["God bless Ameri—!"]